June 6, 2008
RIILE Shut out of Governor's Immigration Advisory Group
Terry Gorman of RIILE (Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement) was on Dan Yorke's show this afternoon and explained that neither he nor any RIILE members have been invited to participate on the Governor's 27 member Immigration Advisory panel (no documentation or press release yet). According to Gorman, he had gotten the impression that he was on the panel and had even been asked to recommend a few people.
According to ProJo, "[t]he group includes members from religious communities, community agencies, government, law enforcement and business." Gorman has seen the list and told Yorke that, with the exception of a few members of State law enforcement, the makeup of the panel looks like the membership of a pro-amnesty advocate group. I wouldn't go that far, but you get the point.
For his part,Yorke thinks it's a mistake by the Governor to exclude representatives from RIILE, who have been at the forefront of the debate in RI. So do I. If you're going to approach this issue holistically, and if you're going to include proponents of amnesty in the group, then shouldn't you balance them with those opposed? Heck, the Tax Policy Strategy Workgroup includes people from all over the political and ideological spectrum. Why not do the same for the Immigration panel? Here's the list:
From the religious community are: Bishop Thomas Tobin, head of the Diocese of Providence; Rabbi Alan Flam of the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis; Rev. Donald Anderson of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches; Rev. Eliseo Nogueras of the Hispanic Ministerial Alliance; Rev. Jeff Williams of Cathedral of Life Christian Assembly; Rev. William L. Shaw of the Ministers Alliance of Rhode Island, and Rev. James T. Ruggieri of St. Patrick Church of Providence.Representing community agencies are: Adeola Oredola of Youth In Action, Pheamo Witcher of Genesis Center, Toby Ayers of Rhode Island for Community and Justice, Bruno Sukys of International Institute -Feinstein Center, and Merrill R. Thomas of Providence Community Health Centers.
From government are: Patricia Martinez of the state Department of Children Youth and Families, Vanessa Cooley of the state Department of Education, Carrie Bridges of the State Department of Health, Elvys Ruiz of the state Department of Human Services, Yvon Chancy of the Governor’s Office of Community Relations, retired Rear Admiral Joseph Strausser -- who will serve as the advisory panel co-chairman -- and Deborah A. Smith of the Governor’s Office of External Affairs. Smith will serve as panel vice-chairwoman.
From law enforcement are Major Stephen O’Donnell of the State Police, Col. Stephen McCartney of the Rhode Island Association of Police Chiefs, Magdalena Picot of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, and Cpl. Wilfred K. Hill of the State Police.
Representing the business community are John Gregory of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, Keith Stokes of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, Elissa O’Brien of the Human Resources Management Association of RI, and John Gregory of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce.
This is disappointing because I have thought the Governor was on the right track with his executive order.he appears to be backtracking and Terry has been a strong supporter of the executive order and the Governor's policies vis-a- vis immigration issues in general.
The Governor saw fit to include the very clergymen who opposed the order including the whiney rabbi from Barrington who formerly was a spiritual advisor at Brown(what a surprise!)and representatives of advocacy groups which take the side of illegal aliens every time.
The disrespect shown to a grass roots group like RIILE is disgusting.
It could be that Gov Cacieri knows that RIILE is a White Supremacist Group.
Should he have invited members of the Aryan Covenant, Aryan Nation, or the KKK
??
Mr Richardson,one of RIILE's leaders made headlines around the country when he asked 2 USA Citizens for their Social Security Cards, when they wanted to buy "plumbing supplies"
They were guilty of speaking Spanish ?
" if you're going to include proponents of amnesty in the group, then shouldn't you balance them with those opposed?"
Good point.
"Richard", is there any group opposed to amnesty and open borders whom you would not characterize as Aryan or KKK?
Posted by: Monique at June 6, 2008 9:11 PMWow, is that you Richard? Aren't you the sleeper cell terrorist from Saudi Arabia? Aren't you the guy who's just lying in wait for your next instructions on how to attack America?
That characterization is about as accurate as yours about RIILE. It is not a racist organization, it is a pro-American, pro-laws organization. Terry Gorman has said multiple times that he favors immigration. He is opposed to *illegal* immigration. And Richardson has nothing to do with RIILE. He's simply a business owner with no affiliation to the group.
Funny how people like Eliseo Noguera want to end the hate speech but it is people like Richard to perpetuate the hatespeech and inflame the issues.
Posted by: Counter to Richard at June 6, 2008 9:29 PMMonique
RIILE leader Mr Richardson,wants American CITIZENS, who speak a little spanish,(like me) to have to prove they are Citizens to buy "plumbing parts"
Even right wing, Don Carcieri, condemed RIILE for that,
Even, Right Wing "Loon/Kook"
Dan Yorke said this was WRONG
You must be new here, "Richard", otherwise, you would know my opinion of Dave Richardson's action. I won't bore everyone by repeating it.
Now, if you're finished changing the subject, I'll take an answer to my question, whenever you find it convenient.
By "Richard's" standards it must be valid to assume everyone in the ACLU is a pedophile based on the arrest and conviction of the former president of the Virginia affiliate on charges of downloading child porn depicting sexual torture of children and a staff attorney in the NYC affiliate on charges of attempting to meet a child for sex on the Internet and finding a police officer instead.
Richardson is one of 450 members of RIILE and is solely responsible for rude behavior in his place of business.RIILE did not condone what he did.
Maybe Yorke's right. These guys should've been invited to the table.
And the next time we have a conference about fighting terrorism, let's make sure al-Qaida has a seat at the table, too.
Governor 'Pander' strikes again. It's really sad how emasculated this guy has become. Terry Gorman was told early on he'd be on this panel and now he finds out via the media that he's not? Typical M.O for this governor's office. One unprofessional hand doesn't know what the other unprofessional hand is doing. I cringe at the thought of Governor Pander being in serious negotiations with the unions. Cringe!
rhody,
Your analogy is all wrong. If you want al Qaeda to have a seat at the fighting terrorist table then it's Progresso latino who should have a seat at the fighting illegal aliens table. Right rhody? lol
Posted by: Tim at June 7, 2008 7:30 AM Tim, if you're conservative and want to cut off your nose to spite your face, yeah, let's keep those troublemaking Latinos away from the table. George W. Bush won a second term because he embraced Latinos' social conservatism and got nearly 40 percent of their vote.
Wish McCain luck getting 20 percent this time.
rhody,
What exactly is "Latino social conservatism" and how does it differ from the social conservatism of other ethnic groups in America? (This should be good. lol) Would the Bush policy of open borders be part of that conservatism?
If only George Bush had been a conservative. If only...
And as with your foolish and misplaced al Qaeda reference what does any of this have to do with a discussion about the governor's advisory group?
rhody why are you liberals so incapable of having a straight line discussion? Why are you always seeking to change the subject?
Rhody-I saw Fred Ordonez on the Jim Vincent Show a few weeks ago-he compared the climate for "immigrants"in RI to Nazi Germany in the Thirties-maybe Ordonez should've been a Jew in that place and time.The comparison was obscene.It doesn't even bear discussion.This individual is one of the top officials of Progreso Latino which speaks volumes about the current state of that organization.It used to be a lot different before carpetbagger Ramon Martinez took over.The Jim Vincent show is a good place to watch the eponymous left wing snake oil salesman at work.He must've been a tobacco auctioneer in a prior life,what with his fast-talking routine.
Posted by: joe bernstein at June 8, 2008 8:46 PMAh, Timmah, leave it to you to personalize a policy discussion. You did a more clever job of changing the subject than I could possibly conceieve.
Posted by: rhody at June 8, 2008 9:48 PM"I saw Fred Ordonez on the Jim Vincent Show a few weeks ago-he compared the climate for "immigrants"in RI to Nazi Germany in the Thirties"
Seriously, the credibility goes right out the window with comparisons like that. Does he even know what happened in Nazi Germany? The man cannot summon any substantive arguments to defend his position so he resorts to this sort of thing.
Posted by: Monique at June 8, 2008 10:26 PMCitizens need to know that a baby born in the US is entitled to federal and state entitlements regardless of their parents immigration status---even if the baby was conceived in a foreign country and both parents are illegally residing in this country. This situation has contributed to many states' strained budgets. This fact should be pointed out to the public. People are unaware of the cost, because the pro-illegal advocates put the illegal immigrants' American born children in the "American citizen" column of any survey or statistic. This skews the actual cost of illegal immigration.
Posted by: ccollins at June 10, 2008 7:02 PM